The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1887-08-04

awkward questions about proofs and
g~enealogies that she had not been pre-
pared to answer; indeed, she had half
fancied they took her for an impostor,
they had been SO reluctant to part with
any information. She should hear
from them In q few days, and In the
meantime she must kindly fill in the
answers to certain questions on a pa
per they had given her.
"And I thought / should almost have
had it in my pocket by this time" she
said to herself, ruefully. ''Well, l
must have patience for another week
or 20. It Is sure to be settled then; on
y-only I'd have liked to have some
thing certain to tell MI. Lawrence" .
Mr.. Lawrence sympathized with her
sover the delay almost as deeply as she
did with herself when she told him the
result Of her visit the next day. Bar
bara was quite struck with the way he
seemed to enter into all her feelings.
"And they did not even give you an
idea how much it was likely to bep" he
asked. ..s .s.-
mot exactly" admitted Barbara;
..but they were so cautious I could tell
by their manner that it must be a good
deal" N =,
II don't know If that is altogether a
criterion. These old lawyers are very
deceptive sometimes" he rejoined.
However, you can get that paper fill
ed up and sent in; and I would not lose
any time about it, if I were you," he
added. Az >..
John Grant was the next person to
whom she had to explain her non-suc-
cess. -
..Just what I expected. Miss Bar
bara," he said. cheerfully. lone is
never sure of a chance of that kind till
one has actually got it. I would not
build upon it in any way, If l were in
your place.'
''You don't seem to have had a for
tunate experience in that way" re-
torted Barbara, ungratefully cit is
only deferred in this case. and l am in
no hurry for a few days" w. 't
days !" echoed John. 'There's a
a man in our office has waited years,
and is likely to wait, as far as I can
see." l g.,
Mrs. Stewart was an other painful
thorn IN the path of this juncture.
Barbara, my dear" she remarked
INT day after school was dismissed,
''were you paying any attention what
eve- 10 thS~pl-ovrS~7-a: S afternoon p
Barbara flushed scarlet, Il was be-
side the piano the whole time" she
declared.
"Your body may have been there,
but your mind certainly was not. Now,
my dear, you must really endeavor to
put this unfortunate legacy out of
your head for the present ; you have
been fit for very little since it was first
mentioned. So far it has proved de-
cidedly the reverse of any advantage
to you,"
len days later came the much-look-
editor communication from Messrs.
bod & Son. ':.They were in receipt OF
Miss Reeds paper, and could assure
her the matter should have their best
attention, and were hers most ob;dient-
IT," etc.
Barbara flung 1t into her desk with
a disappointed face. 1t was tedious to
be obliged to wait in suspense like this.
She would. hardly know how to get
through. the time but for Mr.. Law
reno's attention and warm interest in
the upshot. John Grants's indiffer-
ence, not to say s%cepticism, on the sub
ject threw up his rivals superior
qualities in full relief, and yet there
were times when Barbarafelt Just a little
puzzled that Mi. Lawrence went no
farther. With all his aolicitude, and
looks that said more than words he
never absolutely committed himself to
anything more binding than friend
ship.
II can't ask him. she said one day,
under her breath, as she walked slowly
home after one of these accidental
meetings. "But, oh, I do wish he
would say straight out what he means,
or else keep away altogether. 1t makes
M feel so unsettled"
Poor Barbara was to feel more un.
settled still before she reached home
1t was a lovely summer evening, and
fifty yards farther on she was joined
by another cavalier-John Grant this
time. She shrank back at first, hall
afraid of some testing inquiry after
Messrs. bod & Son, but she speedily
discovered that he seemed to have for
gotten their very existence. There
was something else in his mind, and he
lost no time in saying very straight
OUT indeed what it was.
II may not be able to offer you a flint
house and luxuries," he said. but
have saved plenty to begin in comfort
and I think we might be very happy e.
gether if you would only try. 1 hav,
Thought about it for the last two years
and worked hard to be able to tell yo,
500
Barbara looked up at him with gen
uine tears in her eyes. II am 81
sorry!" she said. II never thought o.
such o thing--at least, not in serious
earnest" as she remembered sundry
remarks of Mrs. Stewards. ''Besides
there's lots of other better girls yol
might find.' 49,.
THAT is not the point" he inter
rupted; 'it's you, not other girls,
want, Try and think OF it, Barbara.
don't want to hurry you, but let nut
have o line as soon as you can; it mean
a good deal to me.
II, Barbra went home IN kind of q haze
She had never thought SO highly o
John Grant and his straightforward
depcndableness as at that moment
but, on the other hand, there was Mr.
/ Lawrence, with his handsome face~a
dashing manner and there was
little underlined sense of resentmen
against Mrs. Stewart, who had Away
been a strong, II net entirely judiciou
advocate for John Grant; and-an,
i then there was this probable forum
that might be coming to her. Barbar
looked at the peaceful evening sky i
sore perplexity Us to what she ought t.
do, or what she really wished. "Ht